This invention relates generally to rear view mirrors and, more particularly, to outrigger rear view mirrors for tractors or similar agricultural vehicles in order to enable the driver to see around large trailing implements.
In the past, Farmer's Factory Company has made and sold rear view mirror apparatus in which a laterally extending mounting bar or tube is attached to the roof of the tractor. Mirror supporting arms telescoped into the mounting tube extend laterally outwardly from the tractor and carry rear view mirrors which are spaced a substantial distance outboard of the tractor. By adjusting the arms back and forth within the tube, the lateral spacing between the mirrors and the tractor may be selectively increased or decreased.
In prior mirror arrangements of this type, the mirrors, the supporting arms, the mounting tube and/or the tractor roof may be subjected to damage if the long arms strike a rigid obstruction. Moreover, it is necessary to slide the arms inwardly to their fullest extent in order to allow the tractor to move through narrow passageways. Subsequently, the arms must be re-adjusted to locate the mirrors in their original positions.